This post contains discussions of sexual assault of a minor.
The murder of JonBenét Ramsey is one of the most infamous unsolved cases in American history, and Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey aims to discover both why it was such a point of fascination and where the investigation went wrong.
In the three-part docuseries, which premiered on Netflix on November 25, members of the police, media, and Ramsey’s own family — including her father — speak out about the events of December 26, 1996, when she was found murdered in her home, and everything that transpired afterward. Here are the biggest revelations in the special.
The police didn’t search the basement.
Of the many accusations of professional malfeasance on the part of the Boulder Police Department in this docuseries, perhaps the most shocking is that they didn’t search the entire house after Patsy Ramsey reported her daughter missing from the home. It was ultimately John Ramsey who found her in the basement after a detective reportedly told him to search the house again. Then, in a moment of shock and desperation, he removed her body from downstairs and removed tape from her mouth, which meant the crime scene was accidentally compromised. Bob Whitson, an investigator on the case, agreed that the entire house should’ve been cleared, but they genuinely thought it was a kidnapping case.
Some officials believed it was the Ramseys’ fault right away.
One of the officials contributing to the docuseries revealed that when JonBenét’s body was found, one investigator “hissed” that he knew Patsy and John were the killers. That was just the start of the speculation against them that has never truly subsided, even after Patsy Ramsey died from cancer recurrence. One detective involved, Linda Arndt, insisted she had a “non-verbal exchange” with John Ramsey that made her absolutely certain he did it. She accused him of casually checking the mail after the initial disappearance (John Ramsey said he was looking for more evidence or another ransom note).
Media commentators had some truly horrifying things to say in reaction to the case.
JonBenét Ramsey’s participation in beauty pageants became a point of ridicule in the wake of her murder, with several commentators accusing her parents of sexualizing her with her costumes and makeup. The footage of those various comments was highly upsetting to Patsy in particular, who watched in horror when people said things like her late daughter looked like a “tarted up miniature dwarf hooker” on national television.
Police didn’t reveal that John Ramsey was cleared by the DNA evidence.
The Ramseys were in the middle of a full-on media firestorm after JonBenét’s death, and according to the Ramseys, the police had evidence that there was DNA evidence of an unidentified male retrieved from the scene, and they did not reveal that to the public for months, despite the rampant speculation against the Ramseys.
Patsy Ramsey watched as she was convicted in a mock trial on TV.
Geraldo Rivera, on his talk show, staged a mock trial of the Ramseys in which an actual expert on child abuse insisted JonBenét had been sexually abused by her parent because of the way she pretend-played a saxophone during a performance. Patsy Ramsey happened upon the show and watched in horror as the faux jury convicted them. (She’d later have to explain to her then-minor son Burke Ramsey why his face was on the cover of magazines at the supermarket that accused him of murdering his sister.)
RelatedJonBenét Murder House: Who Lives There Now & More
One investigator was so sure Patsy Ramsey killed JonBenét that he confronted her on national television and wrote a book.
Steve Thomas, a detective on the case who was from the narcotics unit and did not have homicide experience, was absolutely certain that Patsy Ramsey killed her daughter in a fit of rage after JonBenét wet the bed. The evidence did not indicate that the bed was wet — and the sheets appeared not to be freshly changed, based on the fibers — but he was so convinced of it that he even shared his theory to Patsy Ramsey’s face on Larry King Live. He also wrote a book to that effect and was sued for defamation.
An investigative reporter admitted he was fed false stories about the Ramseys.
Charlie Brennan, who wrote for the Rocky Mountain News, admitted in the docuseries that he published at least one story that was patently false — specifically, a report that John Ramsey piloted his own plane to his daughter’s memorial service. He also published several stories that were misleading or incomplete, such as a story about how there were no footprints in the snow outside of the basement window — but the post didn’t include the fact there was no snow on that side of the house.
One independent investigator was so dedicated to the case that he took it to his grave.
Lou Smit, who was initially hired by the district attorney’s office, was convinced by the evidence in the case that the Ramseys were completely innocent and continued to independently investigate the case until the day he died. He was so relieved when the district attorney declined to press charges against them that he cried (even though a grand jury did vote to prosecute both parents for child abuse resulting in death).
One guy confessed in graphic detail to JonBenét’s murder.
There were several people who were suspected of being involved in the murder based on their criminal histories, but one guy took full credit for the crime. A man named John Mark Karr was arrested in 2006 after spending untold amounts of hours talking to documentarian Michael Tracey and explaining in detail how he killed her — claiming it was an accident and that he was engaging in erotic asphyxiation at the time. However, he was ultimately cleared, since he was not a match for the DNA evidence.
John Ramsey is currently fighting for new evidence.
After more than two decades of no answers, John Ramsey still hasn’t given up on finding his daughter’s murderer. He is currently petitioning for additional DNA samples to be collected from the evidence that is still in custody from the crime scene.
Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, Streaming Now, Netflix
If you or someone you know is the victim of child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
More Headlines:
‘Holiday Affair,’ ‘Bewitched’ & More Titles Airing on FETV and FMC for the HolidaysThe Most Stunning Revelations in ‘Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?’Lidia Bastianich Previews Her ‘Thank You to America’ in New ‘Changemakers’ Special‘Missing You’: Everything You Need to Know About Harlan Coben’s New Netflix Series‘The Curse of Oak Island’: The Viking Theory and News About Lot 5
